CDC: US Suicides Reached All-Time High in 2022

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Facts

  • New Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows an estimated 49,449 people in the US died by suicide in 2022, the highest figure the agency has ever recorded and a 2.6% increase from the previous year.1
  • The CDC posted the estimated number Thursday and also reported that the 2022 suicide rate of 14.9 deaths per 100K people is 5% higher than the previous record of 14.2 deaths per 100K in 2018.2
  • US suicides were steadily rising from the early 2000s until 2018 when the national suicide rate reached its highest level since 1941. The rate started to fall in 2019 and 2020 before rising by 4% in 2021 and now 3% in 2022.3
  • Older people aged 65 and up saw the largest increase in suicides between 2021 and 2022, rising 8.1% to 10,433 deaths. Meanwhile, children and young adults, 10 to 24, saw the largest decrease at 8.4% for a total of 6,529 deaths.4
  • Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for adults ages 25 to 44. White men have particularly high rates, and CDC chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry says it can be prompted by losing a job or spouse.5
  • There are many factors attributed to the rise in suicides, including increased rates of depression and limited mental health services. Some experts say the availability of firearms has contributed to the suicide rate, with the gun suicide rate reaching an all-time high.6

Sources: 1Reuters, 2CNN, 3Associated Press, 4CBS, 5WHEC, and 6Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. America is seeing a crisis from what has been described as “deaths of despair,” exacerbated by a culture that foments the social ills of our time. The US was already going down a dark path as communities decayed and many working-class people lost their jobs, but the COVID lockdowns were the biggest nail in the coffin. America must look to rebuild communities and provide better economic opportunity if it hopes to reverse the alarming rise in suicides.
  • Left narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. You cannot talk about rising suicide rates without talking about the massive gun problem in America. Data shows that gun-related suicides are on the rise, and open access to firearms allows people to act out on their worst impulses. The gun epidemic has not only taken the lives of people via homicides and mass shootings, but it has also caused thousands of deaths by suicide.